1) dries faster2) length is not overly manipulated3) length is allowed to have added or built up oils (including from Boar Bristle Brushing) remain on a longer duration of time.4) less manipulation of hair = less hair loss which in turn = improved horizontal volume, over time.

Horizontal Volume is a term brought to us by Lady Grace, who I believe got an inkling of it from the George Michael system, perhaps even George himself. For those who don't know, in many ways, George Michael is the "father" of long hair salons in the US, historically speaking. He was one of the initial and first providers of a hair salon specifically designed for caring and treating those who desire long, healthy hair. To this end, he had a variety of tenants which weren't always explained well and he tended to just tout them without the 'reasoning' behind the tenant. Many of these tenants stand today although some are questioned, probably mostly because the "why" behind it is unclear. Those who provide long hair care with the George Michael system (GM) now tend to consult with clients and explain the why and never do anything without your consent and understanding.

Horizontal Volume is about the thickness (or think of it as width) of the hair in the last several inches of hair. In growing long tresses, we are in a constant replacement phase of new hair growth coming in. The newest sprouts tend to appear as fuzz on the crown or around the forehead or hair part....often this is misidentified as "breakage." These new growths tend to stick up and out, maybe even in a wiry appearance, sometimes even creating a halo effect that many find unattractive. As these new sprouts grow out, they then have weight and begin to lie down as part of the overall mass of hair. When one looks at their hair a little closely, it's easy to discern that there's all kinds of hair lengths throughout the overall hair as the ends might stick out ever so slightly (for example, in braids, these little bits might show as what I call hairielles.) This is all new growth, and sometimes hair may indeed actually stop growing in terms of gaining inches in overall length, yet all the energy is being put forth in the replacement phase of hair. For those with unusually longer lengths, this process can take a year or two to "replace" where it would seem that very little to no growth in terms of gained overall inches is being achieved. Never fear in these circumstances. Growth is always occurring on our heads. Only poor nutrition, illness and medications can interfere with this process.

OK, so much for background...now on to the concept.

To achieve horizontal volume one needs to minimize as much as possible hair loss as well as care for the hair in such a way that hairs do not break, split and such (since such damage needs to be removed to avoid further damage to that given strand as well as rubbing on other nearby hairs and causing damage to a perfectly happy hair -- yes, happy hair!)

I think of horizontal volume in 2 ways: vertically (which is why I now more often use the slash Horizontal/Vertical Volume to be as descriptive as possible) in that the thickness from the crown to the ends is optimum (for one's hair type). Hair does naturally taper because the majority of hair thickness and new growth shows most strongly in the area of the back of the neck to approximately waist length. Longer, it tends to become a little thinner unless hair care supports improving this or one is genetically gifted. (Remember, I am a fine hair type and I happen to believe [not an established fact that I know of] that thick hair types, particularly wavy/curly hair types have an easier time with thickness at the ends because it's easier to see a blunt across line than a fine hair type that tends to have less air present between the hairs -- curly and wavy hair tends to stand a little more apart from each strand and more air is between the strands. Asian hair types, for example, I again believe likewise have an easier time showing that blunt line since their hair type is coarser...an individual strand is thicker in circumference when compared to a caucazoid fine hair type.)

I never quite totally got the idea that horizontal volume also refers to the thickness of the ends in the last say, 3-6 inches. But it does. Some are blessed naturally; often these blessings show more in youth. Older women and men may have a harder time with this because genetically, as one becomes older, there's a tendency for some hair thinning, and in men and women pattern baldness can occur (if it's in your genes). There's not a whole heckuva lot one can do about genes, although if one is suffering from what is termed "male pattern baldness" one can investigate the option of Rogaine (prescription required) or Nioxin (the OTC version of Rogaine). Anyway, I digress.

So the goal is to get those new hairs to grow to reach the overall mass of length and so-to-speak "fill in" at the ends. For some this can mean a bit of a trim, and if one understands this concept well earlier, then microtrims along the way can really improve and keep steady the overall thickness of hair.

One of the other issues that occurs in looking and discerning the Horizontal/Volume is what is termed by the GM system as "weak spots." Many do have weak spots and don't realize it. I didn't know until recently that I have one. Measuring from the centerline in the back of the head (the center of the back of the head)....one measures six inches in each direction out to the sides. Now, keep in mind side hairs do tend to grow in less thickly and perhaps even more slowly. In point of fact, hair all over the head grows differently, the backside from the backside of the hair part -- the zone covering the neck -- all of that hair in there tends for most (I am speaking generally and in averages) the thickest and heaviest. At any rate, so back to 6 inches from center line....the goal is to have all the hair at the same length.

Now, different people do grow differently so one does need to keep that in mind, and if one is purposefully trimming in a U or V shape, this may not apply as much. I will say that the GM system recommends a blunt line across, not the U or V cutting because this cuts hair on an angle and also affects that horizontal volume greatly. Some, though, grow naturally in a U or V shape, and I have witnessed this in person. So do not confuse this point overly. This is where knowing one's hair tendencies and patterns and hair type become key.

So, I happen, by way of example, to have a "weak spot" within the 6 inch zone from center line on MY left side where the hair is 2 inches shorter than my overall length of 55 inches. Unfortunately, this wasn't caught too well a while back, so now I have to deal with it. Weak spots can also show nearer center line where hair surrounding is long yet at center point it could be shorter....that's another example. For some inexplicable reason, the hair seems to grow slower in that portion, perhaps.

So the 2 choices of handling weak spots are to trim hair back to the weak spot and use a system of microtrimming as one gains length. The other option is to place oneself in a holding zone for a duration (this is what I chose) to allow time for this shorter lengths to "catch up" to the overall length. So I am microtrimming, and will be for around a year or so, for these 2 inches to catch up with the rest. This is step 1 for me to drastically improve horizontal volume. If those 2 inches join the rest of my overall length, I will have drastically thicker hair on the ends.

Also, if and when all that new growth reaches the ends, I will have by numbers, more hairs in the ends and therefore thicker ends.

So this is a BIG REASON why I scalp wash and leave my length alone, to reduce hair loss and fussing with my hair to improve that horizontal volume. This is a different way of thinking of hair and all the other tenants still apply: dust, detangle gently from the bottom, detangle with a tool that does not pull out or stress hair unduly....generally treating the hair as "spun silk" as Lady Grace would say. (For those who don't know, Lady Grace has floor length, beautiful rich chestnuty brown hair.)

Scalp Washing does tend to reduce my drying time and also helps keep my scalp free from excess bacteria buildup that can cause sebum to break down and therefore reside in a hair follicle and otherwise release a perfectly healthy hair early. I do believe it to be normal to lose slightly more hair in the hair washing, but being very gentle and massaging the scalp gently from underneath the hair is an important tenant for me.

I also happen to have a scalp condition that is an excess of yeast growth. It's a category of dandruff but its symptoms are not like regular dandruff. Basically, if I allow my scalp hair to get too built up with my natural sebum, then my scalp begins to not only itch, but I get red bumps that rise much like acne. They can even become infected with a kind of puss and then bleed and then in repairing, become slightly crusty on just that red dot area. Also the red dots always re-occur in the same exact place (site). Scalp washing effectively remedies this problem so that I do not need to use my Nizoral prescription strength shampoo rarely. Also the apple cider vinegar rinse really helps to pH balance my scalp's skin back to neutral and these red dots hardly come to fruition anymore. I can scalp wash more frequently and effectively manage this condition. If I were to, as frequently, wash my entire length, I would end up with even more hair loss from the washing and detangling process and my horizontal volume would be greatly affected.

I am overall at the point of losing perhaps 5-10 hairs daily. I take my MSM and do take perhaps twice a week Nature's Plus Ultra Hair Vitamins with Biotin. I am sensitive to Vitamin A so I can't take the recommended dosage of 2 a day, or even scaling back to 1 a day. I have to space it out a lot more. But I find for me MSM really assists with reducing hair loss. It's that noticeable for me. I also take Zinc, and Vitamin E in gelcap form.

I hope I have adequately explained my reasons for scalp washing. I tend to think over the long haul, as in years, for results. I think about what I can do today to get the results I want tomorrow or a year or two or ten from now. Thinking the long view helps greatly with making excellent decisions today to effect a desired outcome.

I do not simply scalp wash because it reduces hair drying time. It does have a lot of other benefits for me too, but the key reason is reducing hair loss to effect positive horizontal/vertical volume.

heidi w.

To this end, this is one of the reasons I do not wash all of my hair....to decrease how often I need to detangle and generally fuss with my hair and to increase the protective coating from adding oil to my length. One may think that just oiling after each hair wash is sufficient, but there's a huge amount of hair loss associated with detangling, at least for me, potentially.

Edited to insert A for vitamin A and correct word to comply with Loom DB rules

do nov 13, 2014 17:15

Athanasia

Langhaartje

Berichten: 2483Images: 0

Re: Scalp wash-topic

Fixing my postSeptember 17 2004, 4:36 PM

Well, I can't edit my above post, so I wanted to be clear that it is Vitamin "A" in Nature's Plus Ultra Hair that is super high, and I can't tolerate it. Excess Vitamin A stores in my fat cells and I begin to itch from the inside out. (I saw a dermatologist when this occurred and she identified the issue. I stopped the dialy Ultra Hair vitamin and the ithcing subsided as did the few red patches that had cropped up, from me scratching that site)

I see I had a paragraph and thought going after I signed my name. I don't know how that occurred...Nevertheless my point was to say that some may argue, well, if I wash all my hair length as often as I want yet be sure to oil the length (or some other leave in product for conditioning/coating/protecting the hair) then what's the big deal about scalp washing.

Scalp washing helps me to balance the fact that hair length is never as "dirty" as the scalp skin itself. It's the scalp skin that needs washing typically -- not the hair.

Scalp washing helps me to balance things such that my crown hair remains clean, allows for a little bit of buildup but not to the point of becoming odiferous or where my red dots crop up (odor is a sign that the bacteria, which is ever present on the scalp skin naturally has begun to break down sebum. This is the point that hair should be washed because broken down sebum can't do it's job effectively and bacteria in the hair follicle releases healthy hair early!) Yet my hair length has beautiful shine and softness and suppleness!

On the long hair boards, it's often, and I still do recommend this to a point, suggest allowing a longer duration between hair washes. Depending on one's age, physical activity and lifestyle, this is more or less possible. For example, those in their 20s or who are athletic tend to need to wash more frequently because the scalp sebum really builds quickly. Weather conditions can affect this decision as well. Those, though, in their 40s and beyond, likely notice less sebum production on the scalp and may indeed be able to go longer between hair washes than their sisters who are in their teens or 20s. But scalp washes allow for one to cleanse the scalp skin at the rate needed for an individual yet balances out and allows buildup to occur on hair length.

At any rate, I'm sure I've made my point clear about Horizontal Volume and how scalp washing can assist greatly with improving overall volume by reducing hair fussing and detangling. Detangling is a time when a lot of hair can be lost depending on one's hair health, tool chosen and technique used. This is the most likely time when most people lose more hair on a daily basis, and I have definitely found detangling (phase I) with a wide toothed comb to really help a lot.

Also, be sure those updo buns are not pulling unduly on forehead hairs. Spiral a little less tight if possible, and once the hair is in a bun one can press on the side or top of their head and push down and forward to loosen hair slightly. Further, placing an updo bun more on top of the scalp bone (versus hanging the weight down the back of the head) can assist with reducing hair loss or stress from pull or weight of hair in an updo. Save the fancy back of the head updos for a few times a week. Indeed, I often go from my day's updo to sleeping with it at night, and position my updo so that I can do that. (For example, today's pancake or cinnamon swirl bun is Day 2. I created it yesterday, slept on it last night, and left it in for today's dental visit! And I'll probably sleep in it tonight...I'm so pooped! LOL)

To further reduce and minimize hair loss and the need for detanging, wear that hair up! Can't recommend that enough. Or at least contained in a braid, and when down or in a braid, wear a top that allows hair to slide.